Exploring Abstraction at Woodstock School of Art: Day 1/Drawing

This weekend I took a great class with the talented Jenny Nelson at Woodstock School of Art with the goal of learning other ways to start a drawing or painting, without specific image references. The goal was to loosen up and utilize subconscious intuition with inherent mark making preferences, before allowing the rational mind to judge and develop. I found this process fun and exciting, but intimidating, for judgment is a powerful inhibitor.

Day 1 was a series of drawing exercises using charcoal and black paint washes, building the compositions with addition and subtraction, and collage. Through working in black and white, we focused on form, line, and texture without the hang-ups that color can bring.

Experimental mark-making in acrylic washes.

Drawings in charcoal.

Collage made from the experimental acrylic wash paintings.